When to Delegate
The best leaders incorporate delegating into their daily practice. Delegating builds ownership and capacity in others within the organization. Furthermore, it can often be a necessity for the leader based on the sheer number of tasks. However, deciding what and when to delegate is difficult. Therefore, asking yourself 3 questions will you decide if you are going to delegate a task:
Importance: How important is the task?
Skills: What is the skillset needed to complete the task?
Time: Who has the time to complete the task?
How important is the task? If the task is important, you’ll either want to delegate it in order to build ownership of others for implementation of the initiative. On the flipside, it may be too important to delegate to others and you’ll want to retain control of the task. If you want others to implement the task or initiative, it may be more successful if they have a level of involvement in the planning and completion. In that case, set up a clear process for feedback, review, and revision in order for the task to be successful. Be sure to incorporate a balance of positive and constructive feedback, without micromanaging the task. If you decide that you want to complete the task on your own, be aware of the level of ownership you want your organization to have during implementation.
What is the skillset needed to complete the task? Delegating can be a teaching opportunity, with the right support. Giving others experiences builds capacity in others, with the right feedback, guidance, and process. However, if they don’t have enough experience to complete the task successfully, then consider only delegating a part of the task.
Who has the time to complete the task? Leaders often have to delegate for the sake of their own time. They simply have too many responsibilities to complete them all. In that case, identify the tasks that others can complete so that you can put your energy towards the most important tasks. However, sometimes, others in the organization are also overloaded with tasks. In that case, the leader may want to take the task in order to ease the workload of others. When leaders do that, they model that they are willing to do the grunt work as well. Leaders can gain respect and show empathy when they take tasks off the plates of those they lead. Furthermore, it keeps leaders connected with the aspects of the job they may have forgotten as they move up the ladder.
Deciding when to delegate is difficult because you can lose some control of the outcome. However, the side effects of delegating (ownership, respect, and time) can have an even greater impact in the long run.
